As part of the Science Olympiad we were assigned to build a bridge. My first thoughts were actually pretty negative because I knew that I was not the best buildr ( from experience from last year). We were given a general design to build off of, or we were given the option to desing a new one. I actually debated for a long time as to what I should do. I ultimately decided to take the risk to design a new bridge, hoping that maybe it could withstand more load (plus we were told that we would be rewarded points for creativity). The night we were giiven this project, I automatically started researching the optimum design for my bridge. I knew that the load would bee applied to the center of the bridge, so therefore, I had to research a bridge …show more content…
I’d never really built a bridge that was supposed to be tested and I definitely lacked experience at building in general. Also, I thought that even though I had a really stable desing, m y execution might’ve not been able to make the bridge hold its own. So I eventually scrapped the idea of making an arch. The next best thing was the Warren Truss bridge. The Warren Truss bridge is a type of bridge design that consists of equilateral triangle trusses. Even though it was really simple, it would be very good for a centered load. The design commonly has a centered vertical piece that prevents the bridge from buckling. When weight is applied to the bridge, the vertical pieces are in tension (as well as the horizontal base piece and inner diagonals) and the diagonals are in compression. While reading about the Warren Truss, I found the Pratt Truss as well. The Pratt Truss mainly used right triangles and worked the same way except it would be better for longer spans. I decided to combine both designs to create my
The building of a new bridge will be done. The question is when. A new bridge is of major importance to the city of Buffalo. It will bring many positives, and barely any negatives. Personally, I have always just thought of a bridge as a way to get from point A to point B. However, the idea of new Peace Bridge's benefits has opened my eyes. The new Peace Bridge may result in a modern day Erie Canal.
The enormous responsibility that an engineer has when designing a project is often overlooked. His or her job is not only to create a design that will work under ideal conditions, but that will meet the regulations of environmental and building codes and will also survive the unpredictable forces of nature that structures are sometimes subjected to. An article in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, "Structures are Held up by Both Skill and Luck,"1 describes many risks involved in the designing process and the failures that can occur when small details are overlooked. In light of a recent surge of failures in the Northwest, the article says:
The Golden Gate bridge, standing as an icon of roadway innovations, took multiple engineers years to design and complete. They could not just simply build an ordinary bridge. They had to take into consideration the physics behind it, as well as, what kind of effect the environment would have upon the bridge. The bridge sits along one of the most active fault lines in the world, so engineers had to make sure their bridge could withstand a little movement. Today the Golden Gate bridge still stands tried and true, as does many other innovations that 20th century engineers came up with.
Following the collapse of the I-35 Bridge, other bridges in the country, with similar construction designs, were scrutinized. According to federal statistics, more than 70,000 of the 607,363 or roughly 12 percent of the bridges in the United States are classified as “structurally deficient.”
Since it would be easier and less expensive to build a bridge rather than a tunnel, a bridge was initially thought to be a better solution. However, to construct a bridge over the Hudson River it would require a minimum clearance of 200 ft. for ships to travel to and from Hudson River ports. Since the Manhattan side of the Hudson did not meet the 200-foot elevation requirement needed for a bridge, new and expensive apparatuses would have to be built on the New York side. Also, a bridge would be affected by poor weather conditions more than a tunnel. In 1913, the joint coalition finally decided to construct a tunnel.2
Hundreds of thoughts swarm through my head, as I think of potential car and launcher designs. It was the beginning of 8th grade. A new year of middle school, a new year of Science Olympiad, a new year of studying for my events, and a new year of challenges: my first building event, Scrambler. I’ve always been interested in science, specifically medicine, ever since I was 7 or 8. I read a book called When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Doctor, which inspired me to aspire to become a doctor. Ever since then, I’ve been exploring the field of science and medicine through a variety of learning experiences such as Science Olympiad, a science competition consisting of several events that cater to a variety of fields in science. This year, my partner and I were faced with the task of building a mechanical vehicle, powered by a falling mass, that is capable of traveling down a straight, level track with a barrier at the end while carrying an
The first and most challenging problem associated with building the Mackinac Bridge arrived long before the bridge was even designed. Financing such an enormous project was no easy feat. In 1928, the idea of connecting the upper and lower peninsulas was proposed to Congress for the first time (Brown 4). At the time, the suspected bridge project was very much under government scrutiny and control. In fact, the initial boost in interest in pursuing the construction of a bridge came about due to the depression. The Public Works Administration (PWA) had been created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal economic plan which would fund certain construction projects with th...
The bridge was designed at a time when America was moving toward streamline products, this included the design of bridges. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was a sleek, graceful looking suspension bridge. Suspension bridges consist of many cables anchored...
My involvement in the Science Olympiad community has stemmed from the 7th grade and my dedication is unremitting. If I had to continue only one activity, Science Olympiad would be at the forefront because of the opportunities it has provided me to learn and grow. Since junior high, it has provided me a medium to excel my passion for science and learn more about the world around us. My eagerness to learn has been matched and cultivated by the dedicated coaches and volunteers and I cannot let my drive perish while attending college. The community dedicated time to assist me and I have, as well, dedicated time to teach younger Science Olympians. In college, whether it is being involved with collegiate level science competitions and/or volunteering
In her essay,”Importance of the Golden Gate Bridge,” Stephanie Stiavetti suggest that “It maintained this point of pride for nearly 25 years until the Verrazano- Narrows Bridge was built in New York in 1964. Today, this historic San Francisco landmark holds its place as the second largest suspension bridge in the country, behind Verrazano Narrows.” Back then, experts thought that it would be impossible to build a bridge across the tides and currents in that area because strong currents and tides would make construction extremely difficult and dangerous. The water is over 500 feet deep in the center of the channel, and along with the area's strong winds and thick fog, the idea of building a bridge there seemed nearly impossible. Despite all of the problems of building a bridge across the Golden Gate, Joseph Strauss was named as lead engineer for the project. Construction began January 5, 1933, and in the end cost more than $35 million to
When it came time to start the project our teacher handed us a paper with a diagram on top and said the following, “This diagram only shows you what needs to be connected not where it 's supposed to go, the design is all up to you.” When he left the board it took me a few seconds to realize that I was stuck. I didn’t want my design to mimic the diagram, but at the same time I didn’t know how I was going to change it based on my design. It took me about 5 days (120 minutes per day) to finally complete the project. Out of 30 projects 10 turned out to be successful, and mines was one of them. My design was simplistic at the least, but it was effective in its task to charge a smartphone and to this day still works. Doing this project made me realize that my creativity needed improvement just as much as my decision making skills. This experience did not discourage me in the slightest bit. No, this experience has only fueled my lust for engineering and drives me to challenge myself to come up with more intricate designs and
The Ancient Olympics began being very simple and didn’t have many sports or events involved. In fact, the very first olympics was held on just one day and contained one event called the stade (Barton). The stade was an event where several racers lined up and ran the equivalent of a 220 yard dash (Barton). However this changed rather quickly. After a few Olympic Games, seven to twenty-four length stades were added as endurance contests. After running races came the pentathlon. This was a five in one event consisting of running, wrestling, discus throwing, javelin throwing, and long jumping (Barton). The winner of this event ultimately became the grand champion of the Olympics and received many perks such as free food, housing, no taxes, and
My Science Fair experiment is based on four main products, ibuprofen, acetic acid, bleach, and bread. The name of this is experiment is "Bread vs. Chemicals." The goal of this experiment is to see what chemical bread can survive in the longest. I will do multiple trials of each type of chemical and record results promptly. I am going to have three containers, one for each chemical and place a piece of bread in each and see how long the bread can survive without falling apart to determine the results. This experiment falls under the category of food science. Food science is considered to be a broad topic that coincides with scientific principles and foods to better understand them. Maillard reaction is quite often referred to as the
Students make the same projects year in and year out because they do not have easy